Easements secure access to Te Ahu Pātiki
ACTIVITY: Handling general access enquiries and case management
Te Ahu Pātiki is a 500-hectare block purchased last year by the Rod Donald Banks Peninsula Trust (RDBPT). The trust’s manager at the time, Suky Thompson, spearheaded a fundraising campaign to purchase the land – Suky is also one of our latest Outdoor Access Champion Award winners. We worked with Suky to secure public access with walkway easements on eight tracks, and the rest of the block is now protected by a Queen Elizabeth II Open Space Covenant.
Ownership of Te Ahu Pātiki will soon be transferred to Te Ahu Pātiki Charitable Trust. Its members are representatives of RDBPT, Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke Inc, Orton Bradley Park and Te Rūnanga o Koukourarata.
Herenga ā Nuku has retained the controlling authority role for the walkway. This role is usually assigned to a public body, however RDBPT agreed to enter a memorandum of understanding with Herenga ā Nuku for management of the tracks. Our memorandum of understanding with RDBPT has been transferred to Te Ahu Pātiki Charitable Trust, which will now cover the track management role. The tracks are operational and in use, and the trust will hold a grand opening to celebrate the land transfer and completion of wider work later in 2022.
Te Ara Pātaka, the 35-km route previously known as the Summit Walkway, crosses Te Ahu Pātiki which is a significant link in a web of tracks connecting to communities in the valleys below. Te Ara Pātaka links reserves, unformed legal roads and private land crossings.